Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1887-07-16
Farm and Garden Notes.

Farm and Garden Notes.
Pekin ducks arc decided to be the
most profitable bird of the duck tribe
that can be raised. -.
Experiments show that the native
thick skinned grapes arc better winter
keepers than u improved varieties
DO not use fertilizers TOO lavishly on
pottcd plants. small quantity applled
Frequently is better than . full allowance =
at one time.
Most kinds Of trees raised from seed
need some protection from tbs sun ana
wind during the first and second years OF
their growth.
Tie manure heap is called the farmers
best savings bank. into which all small
amounts Of material may be converted
into valuable deposits.
Fruit tIe@s should not be pruned, says
Ben Perciy Poor, when the sap Will keep
the saw wet, unless the wounds are COW
cred with a solution Of green shellac dis
solved in alcohol.
Team help is too valuable at seeding
time to stop the team and take a mans
time for a day to draw a load of phos-
phate which might just as well be drawn
before the busy season opens. Farmers
who use phosphate should make an esti-
mate Of the amount they need or can af-
ford, and draw it early, so as to have
ready when needed. If kept dry it will
not dctcrioratc, but rather improve, by
keeping over one year.
1t is a pleasure to some to train certain
kinds Of bushes into standards, SO they
NAV form miniature trees. The currant
or goosebcrry so trained or grated IS a
curiosity. In this case it is a very easy
thing to graft both kinds of fruit on the
same stock. The wistaria is a curiosity
trained into a standard, SO is the bitter
sweet. Fortunes Forsythia is mutually a
shrub that suckers a great deal. 1t is,
nevertheless, one of the few shrubs hat
is improved by being trained as a
standard.
Variations in the composition of milk
are dependent also upon age and bodily
health. Professor Willard calls attention
to the fact that, other things being equal,
young cows yield a milk more rich in
solids than do old COWS, a view not
adopted by all American dairymen, some
of whom believe that an old cows milk
is as good if not better than i young ones.
English dairymcn agree with Professor
Willard and gener-lly observe the rule OF
turning off their milchco at from seven
to eight years OF age.
Sow lawn grass seed as soon as posi-
bic. If one has only small patches to
cover, rake the soil to a perfect level and
sow the seed as evenly as may be. Then
rake again, SOW again and rake again.
The object is to secure a full even stand.
We regard blue grass and red top as
the best varieties to sow. Many advi sc
that a small proportion OF timothy SEED
be added for the reason that it sprouts
before the others and therefore covers the
bare spots earlier. Three bushels of seed
tothc acre Of either blue grass or red top
are little enough.
+. w. Stewart estimates that one hun
drcd pounds of meal are about equal In
feeding value to four hundred pounds of
potatoes, Thus at one cent a pound for
the meal the four hundred pounds of po-
tatocs would be worth one dollar, or tif-
teen cents per bushel. Potatoes should
not be fed raw in large quantities to
stock. They contain a large proportion
of starch which must be acted upon by
heat to insure complete digestion. Three
or four quarts # raw potatoes may be fed
daily to stock with good results, but when
large quantities are to be fed they should
be steamed or cooked.
All kinds of stock need salt, but it is
especially necessary for milch cows, and
it is important that it be given regularly.
If left where they can get it under shell
ter, they will only eat what they need, a
little almost daily to supply the small
percentage of salt found in milk. AS long
=, ~ Il calf gets milk as even part of It's diet,
i, it las no craving for salt, and probably
does not need any. Regularity in sailing
COWS increases the flow of milk, but if
obliged to cat more than they need by
having salt MIXED with food, there will
he al first an increase in milk production
followed quickly by a decrease and often
serious injury to the COW
Bymost Northern people the sweet po-
/. tato is eaten only sparlngIy. and, as 1t has
| to be bought often at Il nigh price, it is
regarded is Il rather expensive luxury.
| But it is very easily grown, and with
l equal care and culture will outyield the
common potato, especially on poor
ground. Its rampant vines choke down
/ weeds, making little culture necessary. In
4 some Of the Southern States the sweet pc.
{. tato is planted torStock feed for pigs.
which, when the crop is ripe, are turned
; in and do their own harvesting. The
. sweet they contain is very fattening, but
a il docs not MAKE very solid pork. The
t vines Of potatoes are greedlly eaten by
: COWS. and have none u the p~oisonou:
e qualities of our common potato, which /:
: OF family containing many p~oisonou:
t plant,.
His First Money.
Mayor Hewitt wasa~ked the other day